Articles & Interviews

A Long Swim – a foundation that uses open water swimming to raise funds for ALS research – has proven that teamwork is the best way to accomplish lofty and sometimes extreme goals. Teamwork gets a swimmer across a channel, teamwork achieves business success, and teamwork will find a cure for ALS. Because of its commitment to teamwork and collaboration in ALS research, A Long Swim now joined forces with the Ozdinler Lab for ALS research at Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine. Dr. Hande Ozdinler is as committed to teamwork as we are, and we are committed to her lab …Continue reading →

WTTW News, by Alex Ruppenthal | May 17, 2019 4:17 pm Doug McConnell has swam in New York’s Hudson River, the Boston Harbor and even the English Channel. Now he wants to make a splash in his own city. McConnell, of Barrington, and co-organizer Don Macdonald, of Chicago, are in the final stages, they hope, of planning an “open swim” in the Chicago River. “Nobody in their right mind can [imagine] actually swimming in [the river],” McConnell said. “But if you look at the numbers, it really has improved to the point where you can [safely] have direct exposure.” That’s …Continue reading →

The Ellen McConnell Blakeman ALS Research Fellowship Begins at Northwestern University A Long Swim has announced that it has made a significant gift to Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. The gift will fund the Ellen McConnell Blakeman ALS Research Fellowship, and it will provide for a post-doctoral fellow to engage in the important research work of the Ozdinler ALS Research Lab at Northwestern School of Medicine in Chicago, Illinois. The Ozdinler Lab is headed up by P. Hande Ozdinler, PhD. Dr. Ozdinler has made remarkable discoveries in a career that has been dedicated to ALS research. Dr. Ozdinler was …Continue reading →

Q&A: Doug McConnell, Co-Founder of A Long Swim Chicago Athlete Magazine, by Holly Petrovich | June 1, 2018 Q: How did you first get involved with swimming? A: I was a swimmer since I was a little kid; I started with the summer league team at the East Dundee Park District, and not because I was a good swimmer but because I had older sisters who were both really good and they had a lot of fun with it. I felt like I had found my niche; I swam at the Elgin YMCA through high school, and did pretty well. After …Continue reading →

Interested in taking a swim in the Chicago River? 1440 Wrok News Talk, by Riley O’Neil | September 15, 2016 When I think of the Chicago River, my mind tends to lean toward images of the river being dyed green for Saint Patrick’s Day, not for a refreshing dip. So, I was more than a little surprised to learn that a movement is afoot to make the Chicago River “swim-able.” The man in the photo above, S.S. Nichol, is pictured here in 1909, as he prepares to take part in a marathon swim of the Chicago River. Not only were …Continue reading →

Some swimmers don’t want to wait to tackle Chicago River Chicago Sun Times, by Mark Brown | September 14, 2016 You’ve heard all the talk of making the Chicago River safe for swimming by 2020. A pair of local swim race promoters have a much faster timetable in mind. Don Macdonald of Wrigleyville and Douglas McConnell of Barrington are pitching local officials on a proposal to hold an open water swim race on the main stem of the river through downtown as early as next summer. To prove its feasibility, they are seeking to hold a “test swim” on Sunday, Oct. …Continue reading →

A Long Swim

Doug McConnell Called a Hero Despite Early End to Epic Hawaiian Swim for ALS 365 Barrington, by Liz Luby | August 31, 2016 Marathon swimmer Doug McConnell and his wife Susan returned to Barrington this morning after Doug and his A Long Swim Team set out to conquer a 27+ mile swim across the open-ocean between the Hawaiian islands of Molokai and Oahu. Their mission? To raise awareness for ALS along with funds to help researchers find a cure. Doug’s route was the Ka’iwi Channel which translates to the “Channel of Bones”. Known for 15-foot swells, choppy waves, jellyfish and …Continue reading →

Doug McConnell On A Long Swim Daily News of Open Water Swimming | Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California, July 29, 2016 The English Channel is often referred to as the Mount Everest of open water swimming. But there are more difficult channel swims than the English Channel. The Molokai Channel is one of those mightily difficult channels. While the water in the English Channel is much colder, athletes swimming between Molokai and Oahu face tropical heat, sharks of various types and sizes, massive ocean swells and tidal flows, Portuguese man o war, jellyfish and potentially large surf. Check out …Continue reading →

He does marathons — in the water Crain’s Chicago Business, by Bridget Sweeney | July 3, 2014 Nearly every summer morning at 6, investment banker Douglas McConnell is in the middle of Lake Zurich, religiously counting strokes in his head as he logs two-hour swims. Mr. McConnell, 56, of northwest suburban Barrington, recently became the 84th person in the world — and the 16th over age 50 — to complete an open-water endurance swim of more than 20 miles, this one in New York. In 2011, he battled five-foot waves and 63-degree water temperatures, wearing only a Speedo, while swimming …Continue reading →

A Long Swim Part 1- An Interview With Doug & Susan McConnell Podcast #337 | October 17, 2011 There are 7 billion people walking the earth right now. There have been 5,000 people who have successfully summited Mount Everest. Just over 1600 human beings have swam the English channel- Today’s guests are Doug and Susan McConnell. Doug is only the 48th person over the age of 50 to successfully swim the English Channel. But he could not have done it without his team led by his wife Susan. In this two part interview- Doug shares with us how the idea …Continue reading →

Channeling his effort The Woodstock Independent, by Jay Schulz | September 1, 2011 Within the next month, Barrington resident Doug McConnell will attempt to accomplish something that only 47 people older than 50 have accomplished – swimming the English Channel. McConnell will swim in memory of his father, who passed away from ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s Disease. McConnell’s goal is to raise $50,000 for the Les Turner ALS Research Laboratory at Northwestern University. Medtronic, his primary sponsor, will match funds up to $50,000. McConnell’s family came to Woodstock in the 1860s, and McConnell Road is named after his great-grandfather, who …Continue reading →

Man with Medtronic disc swims the English Channel Star Tribune, by Janet Moore | August 22, 2011 Doug McConnell had been swimming about 20 miles a week in preparation for this week’s English Channel ­attempt. Doug McConnell had just polished off a big greasy plate of fish and chips while in Dover, England, when the call came. “Can you swim the English Channel tomorrow?” he was asked. Of course, he could swim it, McConnell thought. He knew he was ready. The 53-year-old Chicago-area investment banker had been training for the notoriously difficult trek from Dover to the French port of …Continue reading →

Doug McConnell of Barrington to Swim the English Channel in Memory of His Father who Died of ALS Trib Local, by Beth Richman | March 15, 2011 In August 2011, Doug McConnell of Barrington expects to be the 48th person over age 50 to successfully swim across the English Channel. He will be swimming more than 21 grueling miles in memory of his father David who passed away from ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) and in honor of the thousands of people throughout the world who are currently living with the disease. McConnell has branded his efforts “A Long Swim” and …Continue reading →